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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

The Tatted Eye Patch

I wish I could tell you that I am a creative genius and that all of my designs were born of my own imagination, but it's simply no true. Sure, I've come up with quite a lot of ideas all by my lonesome, but some of my most interesting pieces have been the ideas of others. My tatted mask were only designed after someone asked for a lace mask. My tatted cuffs were a gentle suggestion for Belle Armoire. Just yesterday, I had perhaps one of the oddest requests I've had in a while. I was asked if I could create an eye patch which I did.

I think the reason that I get such wonderfully different ideas from others is they have no idea what the process of tatting actually is. This allows them to assume that anything can be created with it. They can think outside the box because they have no idea what the box really is. When I get one of these suggestions, I have to step outside my comfort zone and imagine the end result without thinking of the how. If I can see the resulting object, then I can start to suss out how I will go about creating it . Sometimes it turns out to be simple and sometimes it turns out to be harder than it's worth. Whatever the process the result of these suggestions is always unique and something I am proud of.

I guess I just wanted to publicly thank all those idea makers. Every idea you have placed in my hands has made me think and grow as an artist. Every idea that has grown far beyond a simple suggestion and has fueled other ideas and started a snowball effect. I hope that I continue to get outlandish and sometimes bizarre ideas for my tatting. I certainly would have bored of this craft long ago had I never moved beyond the traditional edgings and doilies. So, thanks and keep the ideas coming!